> Developers not recouping their investment

Last time I did the back-of-the-envelope math, financing permitting delays in San Francisco added 10% to the cost of new housing [1]. (Note: not the cost of permitting. Just the cost of financing the delay.)

This is deadweight loss that everyone in the transaction wins from eliminating. One could absolutely see lower prices and higher developer margins if this waste were cut.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38664780

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strbean 5 hours ago | parent [-]

> everyone in the transaction wins

Nobody ever thinks of the poor banks!

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JumpCrisscross 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Nobody ever thinks of the poor banks!

I thought about that. But a bank would rather lend in lots of high-confidence, low-duration deals than a small number of high-margin deals. The only people who lose when housing is built are incoment landowners. Because prices go down.

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lo_zamoyski 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Usury-as-a-Service.

	▲	pclowes 4 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		At scale banks only win as a facilitator of economic growth. As the adage goes they can only 3-6-3 if someone is making at least 7. For the everyman banks not winning is catastrophic.
	▲	thaumasiotes 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		It's always been a service.